Teaching about nature= finding myself (Final part)

After facilitating the first workshop through Project Choices

I found myself looking for other ways to introduce nature

Because I enjoy giving some educational mixture…

Truly art, music, and poetry give us voices.


Contemplating lectures, discussions, and art creation,

I ended at Dean Technical High School giving students time for exploration

About nature, themselves, the connections we have

From the trees to the concrete because we are all one.

Dean 1

dean 2

dean 3


After a fun game of nature scavenger hunt,

The students took paint, brushes and canvass to create a piece of art.

The art that now hangs in their school cafeteria, reminds them of the outdoors

Because we had fun, discussions, and connections thanks to Latino Outdoors!

dean 4

dean 5

dean 6

dean 7

dean 8


Teaching about nature=finding myself Part. 1

During the week of May 4-8, 2015, I was honored to lead 2 workshops for high school students. These workshops were part of an ongoing effort from the Holyoke Adolescent Sexual Health and Pregnancy Prevention Accountability Committee (HASHPPAC). HASHPPAC’s mission is to develop community-based, multifaceted approaches to decrease teen pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Holyoke, Massachusetts. For their ongoing campaign called “You Have Choices”, HASHPPAC decided to introduce workshops for the teens teaching them how to get involved in their community. The workshops were facilitated by organizations, the community, and Latino Outdoors was fortunate enough to participate!

It was extremely exciting to be asked to facilitate a workshop related to the environment. The first workshop took place at Holyoke High School. I had an amazing experience with 2 teens, Carmen and Tatyana.

Carmen & Tatyana

Carmen (left) and Tatyana (right). Two powerful teens from Holyoke, Massachusetts.

The first question I asked them was, “How do you define nature?”

   “Nature for me, is something beautiful, brings me peace, I listen to ocean waves before I go to sleep because it’s boring.” -Tatyana said

“haha. I love listening to the waves too! How is it boring? Maybe you mean you get so relaxed that it may feel boring?” – I asked

“YES! That is what I mean, it is relaxing. I can forget about the world and just be relaxed and in peace” -Tatyana added.

“Cynthia, can I say it in Spanish”- Carmen asked

“Por favor!” -Cynthia said

“La naturaleza es algo increíble, es bello y la necesitamos. Muchos no la aprecian y les estan haciendo daño. Tenemos que ayudarla.”- Carmen added

My heart was so happy to hear these answers, not because they were connected to nature in their own different, beautiful ways, but how I saw a reflection of me in these two powerful girls.

We proceeded to complete a Nature Scavenger Hunt that I adapted from the High Trails Outdoors Educational Center. One of the list items was to look for evidence of animals. We came across this tree, and saw ants and talked about how scary they look once you get close to them, yet how cool they are. Then we saw this “No Parking Any Time” sign being ‘eaten’ by this tree. tree & sign

 “Isn’t this incredible ladies?”- I asked

“Yeah, nature takes over.”-Carmen

“You can’t even see the sign anymore”-Tatyana

After the incredible conversation, discovery, and fun, we walked back to the cafeteria to hydrate ourselves and give ourselves props for completing the scavenger hunt! Later, we ended  our time together talking about how challenging it is to be a Latina and how many expectations are made by society of what we should look, be and act like. What was wonderful was me being able to see myself years back with the same frustrations as a young Latina and I was able to give Tatyana and Carmen the space to express themselves, be themselves, and cherish their grace as amazing young, powerful, Latina girls.

Those moments that are not accounted for in my curriculum design, are the ones that I find most precious, life changing, and incredible. This experience speaks to what Jose Gonzalez, founder of Latino Outdoors, mentioned “this is our voice, this is our heritage, these are our connections to these outdoors spaces” and by Tatyana and Carmen having a connection to the outdoors right at their school, we were all able to connect on a deeper level and empower each other as Latinas.

Que viva el poder.


Summer Youth Camp at Salt Point State Park

I have seen the immense value of taking a group of Jr. and High School students camping every year.  The students learn valuable skills, they also create wonderful memories and connections with the outdoors, friends, siblings and youth leaders.

Latino Outdoors Regional Coordinator Melissa Avery and Esperanza Viva Youth Leaders Jesse Avery and Nate Rische took five high school students camping on three day/two night camping trip at Woodside Campgrounds at Salt Point State Park (August 2014).  The students enjoyed learning outdoor skills, hiking, camping, playing soccer, cooking, and much more.  Salt Point State Park was a great location to camp near the beautiful Northern California Coast.

“I liked how we played soccer on the beach, but the ocean was very cold and I’m scared of sharks.”
Simon ~ 8th Grade (Stump Beach Cove)

At Camp…

Everyone is usually very excited to get to “camp,” most of our students have been camping before with their families but none of them had ever set up their “own camp.”  As good youth leaders, we gave the students a few moments to enjoy their natural surroundings before we started handing out responsibilities and tasks.

SaltPointCampTent1

Our students had never set up their own camps so to their shock, and even though we had told them many times before, many expected the “adults” to set up camp for them.  We love teaching responsibility to our students and having them set up their own camp is a great way to do it!  Since everything is a race with teenagers, the boys scurried off to their campsite to build their tents while the girls timidly started setting up their own tent.

SaltpointCamptent2

I was particularly proud of my girl students because not only did they “beat” the boys in setting up their tent but they also set up their tent  correctly on the first try!

“I liked how we learned to make fire and how we cooked all our food on the campfire.”
Simon ~ 8th grade

SaltPointFood

“I enjoyed teaching the students to chop firewood and different methods of how to start a campfire.”
Jesse ~ EV Youth Leader

SaltPointMakingFire

FIRE! One of the primal elements of life was one of the favorite teaching moments among the students and leaders during the camping trip.  Many times growing up in the urban environment children are taught fire is dangerous but never taught how to use it as a survival tool.  Jesse taught the students how to make kindling and properly start a fire with matches and magnesium fire kit.  The students were really enthralled with trying to start the campfire with magnesium!

In addition to making fire to keep us warm, all meals were cooked by fire and the students were responsible for preparing their own meals, something the kids had never experienced before.

The Beach and California Coastal Cliffs…

SaltPointBWOverlooking

“I liked hiking to the coastal cliffs because I’ve never done that before.”
Andrew ~ 9th grade

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Two of our four main “activities” included the beautiful Northern California Coast: hiking to Sentinel Rock Viewing Platform, and enjoying the beach at Stump Beach Cove.  Unfortunately, we never found the viewing platform because the students were so enthralled with the cliffs and tafoni formations in the sandstone along the way.

SPSTCoastline

At Stump Beach Cove (1st picture) the students played soccer and relaxed in the sun.  I had the opportunity to sit and stare at the ocean with Ashley, a high school senior.  We talked, looked at the marine debris washing up on the shore and to our surprise harbor seal popped up several times along the cove.  That was very memorable for the both of us because we could see it staring directly at us!

Hiking and Huckleberries…

GroupPic

My favorite outdoor activity to do with students is hike, for many reasons!  Learning and teaching by “experiencing” in the outdoors is a great way to effectively teach what a classroom might take away.  Teenagers also have a lot of energy despite of their “sleepiness” and hiking drains their energy in a good way!

We had two main hiking locations at Salt Point State Park.  First we attempted to find the beautiful Rhododendron flowers at the Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve and second we hiked through the Pygmy Forest.

At the rhododendron reserve we were unfortunately a couple months too late to enjoy the flowers at the actual reserve but we later realized we had seen them all along drive up the coast.  We still had great time on our two mile hike.  We had lunch among the redwoods and even had some students and leaders drinking straight from the creeks which they found very amusing (with a water filter, Lifestraw).  New experiences for every one!

The Pygmy Forest was a favorite for many!  During this hike, we were able to find a multitude of huckleberries and a few blackberries which the students hesitantly tried.  Eventually, I had to tell my “pickiest eater” student to stop eating so many huckleberries because we actually had to finish hiking!!

We were hiking among giant trees all morning and once we reached the “top” of the hill we were in a completely different environment.  The students kept asking why the trees where tiny…eventually we found a kiosk and learned about the geology of the Pygmy Forest, while we ate leftover carne asada and snacks!  Personally, I loved walking through a forest with trees the same height as myself.

PygmyTrees

“My favorite part was hiking…it helped me take my mind off of things.”
Ashley ~ 12th Grade

SPSTHiking

“I liked when we hiked along the little trees (Pygmy Forest), I just liked hiking.”
Josue ~ 10th Grade

SPSTPygmy

“Berry picking!  Also, I loved how every tree had a “face” on in it!”
Elizabeth ~ 9th Grade

HuckleBerry1

“It was really exciting to see the teenagers, who barely have a chance to get out of their neighborhoods except to go get fast-food, be able to pick and eat wild berries right off the vine.”
Nate ~ EV Youth Leader

Huckelberry2

As a youth leader, I truly love watching my students just explore nature’s surroundings.  Just as I enjoy watching my own children explore the forests, beaches and mountains, I love hearing what my students think of the outdoors.

Collage2

From overcoming fears and complaints turning into requests, are some of the things I most look forward to when I take a group outdoors.  Hastily drinking from the camp water spigot to drinking from a creek, complaining about hiking then wishing we could have hiked more are some of the turnarounds I enjoyed on this trip.  More importantly, I enjoy how being outdoors fosters long lasting and meaningful relationships with my students so my fellow youth leaders and I can help them grow into contributing members to our community.

For more pictures please visit our Facebook Album: Click Here

Thank you to the Resources Legacy Fund and the Bay Area Wilderness Training for your support, gear and training to getting youth outdoors and the Latino community outdoors. Thank you to the parents who entrusted us with their children and to my fellow youth leaders Jesse Avery and Nate Rische.

LOProfileMelissa is a LO Regional Coordinator for the San Francisco Bay Area where she works to partner with organizations and facilitate outdoor activities with families and youth students.  She also is a youth leader at her local church and an outdoor family blogger at Chasqui Mom, where she writes about her personal outdoor family adventures.